Coldhearted
by FairyLight Ronan
Summary: Lucy Heartfilia is Fairy Tail high's princess. She's pretty, smart, and kind. Well, at least to her fellow female friends anyway. Any guys who ever asked her out gets brutally rejected and their heart's stomped over. Natsu Dragneel is the academy's star soccer player, one of the legendary, "Dragon Slayers." Forced together, can they survive a month with each other?
1. Chapter 1

When you attend Fairy Tail High, there are three unofficial rules spoken among the students.

#1: Always obey the student council unless you wanted to end up dead.

#2: Avoid that broom closet on third floor like plague if you're single. Never walk with a boy together pass that point unless you're together and if you don't wanted rumor to spread like wildfire.(Partly Bisca and Alzack's fault as it was rumored that they did it in there. So now it's known as _the broom closet of smutty love_ )

#3: The most important rule, NEVER EVER interact with Lucy Heartfilia if you're a guy and don't have a death wish.

These are the keys to surviving Fairy Tail high.

 **POV** : Natsu

The worst day of Natsu's life actually started out pretty tranquil. He woke up and had breakfast and did other necessities like a normal person. School was boring as usual. His friends annoyed the hell out of him like they usually did. It started when _Titania_ came to deliver the news.

Natsu walked out of the mind numbing classroom and into the recess yard. He yawned and stretched his limbs. The peaceful moment didn't last for long as seeing how a parade of screaming fan-girls headed towards Natsu. He groaned. Natsu really didn't want to deal with them now. He ran heading towards the soccer field knowing that their coach restricted anyone from entering that area without his permission.

Natsu was the star player of the school's famous soccer team, _The DragonSlayers_. Every time when he was out on the field, the feeling of freedom and adrenaline pumping through his veins, always overcome him. He loved soccer. It was the release from the boring schoolwork, endless math sessions, and the harsh reality of his life. So far, they have won almost every game and gained the reputation as Magnolia star soccer team even if they weren't professionals.

"Hey, dungfire." Gray,one of Natsu's teammates,(and his rival) called out.

"You want to fight, snow cone!?" Natsu yelled, whipping around to face him.

"Now's not the time, pyro." Gray said impatiently. "Look, Erza's looking for you. If I were you, I'll go and find out what she wants. Before..." He gulps and ran off.

Damn. What did she want? Last time Erza looked for him was when Natsu accidentally walked into the girl's' locker room (He was new to the school! Snow princess had tricked him, saying that it was the principal's office. Of course, he got his revenge later.). Natsu shuddered as he remembered the memory. It just so happened that Erza was in there. She had beaten him half to death while lecturing him about knowing better than to besmirch the poor girl's virtue. He rolled his eyes at the direction that Gray had ran off in.

"Coward!" He yelled at his disappearing figure.

"Natsu Dragneel!" A voice commanded from behind him.

Oh no. So that's why Gray fled. Natsu turned around with a grin plastered onto his face.

"Hey Erza!" As much as he feared her, Natsu, Gray, and Erza were great childhood friends and still were now. He respects her and loves her like a sister. Not that he will ever admit it.

"This is no time for greetings." Erza said seriously. "We have an urgent matter to discuss about. We shall meet at the principal's office as soon as recess is over." She adjusted the small black frame glasses on her face and gave a sharp nod at his direction and walked away quickly.

Natsu is so dead.

 **xxxxxxxxxx**

Natsu shifted uncomfortably on his seat in the main office. Erza's news worried him greatly. Nothing good ever gets out of being called to the principal's office. As seeing how Erza was the head of the student council, she helps the principal, Makarov, handle the paperwork and talk to the various students about issues with their records or schoolwork.

The assistant secretary, Mirajane, called out Natsu's name, indicating him to join the principal. He pushed himself up and wipe his sweaty hands on his pants. The principal wasn't going to call home, was he? Sure it might not have been as big as a deal as it might has been back in elementary school but still, Natsu didn't want to disappoint his parents.

Mirajane smiled sweetly at Natsu. "Don't worry. Master isn't usually strict. I'm sure you'll be fine."

Natsu smiled weakly and muttered a thanks to Mirajane. Natsu knew her because she is the sister to Natsu's childhood friend, Lisanna Strauss, who is currently an exchange student in Italy. Natsu stayed over at house many times before Lisanna left. Mirajane and Elfman were nice despite the fact that Elfman often declared that he was a real man and Mira once being dubbed as _The She-Devil_ (unbelievable now seeing her angel smiles, sweet attitude, and her occasional bikini clad posing for the magazine _Sorcerer Weekly_ ). And as for addressing Makarov as master? Perhaps, it was just the perverted side of Makarov showing when he insisted that, that will be the title the girls of the school will address him as.

Natsu stepped into the office. It wasn't like what you usually imagined the office if a principal to look like. They desk was over cluttered with trinkets and papers were scattered everywhere. The file desk is overflowing with with student records and such. It had a homey and warm feeling leading the students to relax right before being shocked by the crocodile snapping jaws. Well, Natsu wasn't going to make the same mistake.

Right next to the spinning office chair sat a huge pile of _Sorcerer Weekly_ magazines. Makarov sat on the chair with a magazine flipped to the bikini model centerfold. He made satisfied appraising noises. Erza stood next to him holding a bundle of papers.

"Master! Please save these inappropriate activities for after school!" Erza scolded

"You make me sound like I'm doing something dirty." Makarov grumbled and reluctantly put the magazine away. He folded his hands and faced Natsu. "Now my boy-"

Natsu screamed panic stricken,"WHATEVER I DID, I'M SORRY, OLD MAN! I DIDN'T MEAN TO! PLEASE DON'T SEND ME TO DETENTION OR HAVE ME PLAY ONE OF YOUR CRUEL PUNISHMENT GAMES! I HAVE SOCCER PRACTICE AND THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES ARE COMING UP-" . Interrupted by Makarov he stopped and stared him.

Makarov grumbled,"You could've gotten detention for a week just for calling old man. Natsu, it's nothing important. If it were up to me, you'll get off easily-" Seeing the look on Erza face, he stopped hastily stopped fearing for his wellfare. "Ehm-What I mean is, Natsu, you're failing badly in your classes! In fact the only subject you're passing in is PE. That is unacceptable! It is essential for every student in our school to pass in every major subject in order to maintain the reputation of our school."

Natsu relaxed a bit. "Oh, that? For a second, I thought it was actually something important-"

"This is important!" Erza said glaring at Natsu. "You don't understand the gravity of this situation. If you fail in any of these major subjects, you'll get sent to summer school. Worse for you, you'll be prohibited in participating in any extracurricular activities if you fail this marking period!"

"What!?" Natsu yelped. Soccer was everything for him! It had made him popular, gave him freedom and release. Erza knew that. "Why-?!" Natsu started to complain angrily.

Makarov held up his hand. "There is still another month till the marking period ends. You'll have afterschool three times every week to meet up with your tutor."

Natsu's eyes widen. A freaking tutor?! He calmed down as he remembered that his spot on the soccer team depended on it.

"Who is it, Gramps?" Natsu grumbled as he reached into his back pocket for his small bottle of Tabasco sauce and downed it. Okay, maybe not completely calmed down yet.

Erza sighed at this peculiar habit. "Lucy Heartfilia will be helping you with your studies."

Speak of the devil, the door opened and none other then the coldhearted, cruel, spoiled princess appeared.

Lucy's cold gaze swept over him. "He's the idiot I'm suppose to tutor?"

Natsu sweatdropped. He was violating rule #3. No one dared break that rule. Well, except for some occasional stupid guys who thought asking her out will end differently from the other times when she brutally refused and stomped on their heart's.

He was so so dead.

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Hi guys! Thank you so much for reading this! This story is my first fanfiction so I apologize for any grammar error or loop holes in the story line. I'll try to update again by next Tuesday. I'll rate the story T just in case. I don"t really curse a lot, so, um yeah. From where I live, spring break starts next week. NO SCHOOL FOR A WEEK!


	2. Chapter 2

**POV:** Lucy

Lucy is seriously pissed off. Not only did she had to tell off the boy earlier who asked her out(who clearly just moved to Magnolia and didn't know of her reputation as _The Coldhearted Princess_ of Fairy Tail High), now she had to tutor Natsu Dragneel. Freaking _Natsu Dragneel_. The infamous dense pink headed idiot of _The Dragonslayers_.

Forgot what she said. Everyone on the whole damn team are simple minded creatures. She hated to think what the world would be like in a few years if people like them existed.

"Hellooooooo...? You still in there, Luigi?" Natsu asked, waving his hand in front of Lucy's face and snapping her out of her train of thoughts.

"Please try to refrain from talking to me," Lucy stopped and gave him a icy look. "And my name is Lucy, not Luigi."

Natsu made a face at her. "Whatever. What's this square root thingy you just did?"

Lucy face palmed herself. Did he learn _nothing_ from that explanation she gave before?

"Square root is a number that produces a specified quantity when multiplied by itself. For example 4 squared is 16, 5 squared is 25," Lucy explained impatiently.

Natsu just stared at her with that same stupid blank expression.

Lucy wanted to scream in frustration. Her mind drifted back to when Erza requested ( _cough_ *-forced-* _cough_ ) her to tutor Dragneel.

 **Flashback:**

 _Lucy sat perched on seat with Erza in a cafe. She had been called out of her class by an angry Erza so Lucy hadn't really had the guts to refuse when Erza demanded to meet after school. She was starting to regret her decision._

 _Lucy stared agape at Erza. "So," Her mind still reeling from surprise. "You want, me, to tutor Natsu Dragneel."_

 _Erza sat relaxed at the cafe seat with a strawberry cake in hand. She nodded and took a bite out of her cake._

 _"That is correct. Natsu is failing and needs someone who can at least keep his grade afloat."_

 _Lucy let out a forced laugh. She hated guys and it was common knowledge for anyone who lived in the town of Magnolia._

 _"Even if I agree to tutor that idiot, how will I be able to get anything through his thick skull?" Lucy grumbled._

 _Erza glowered at Lucy who cowered a few inches down her seat. "You will tutor Natsu, Lucy Heartfilia. And if you have any more complaints, I have decided that this shall count as a part of your grade. If you don't wish to fail, you will tutor him."_

 _Lucy stared at Erza. Apparently that was something the student body president was able to do. She understood why Erza asked her though. Lucy and Levy Mcgarden, one of Lucy's best friends, were the smartest students in their school with the only full marks scored at the entrance exam. Levy would definitely be a better choice for tutoring Dragneel, who was infinitely more patient and actually able to tolerate the other gender (unlike Lucy) but Lucy wasn't the kind of person who will willingly throw her friend under the bus._

 _"I have Taekwondo class after school though. You would know since you also attend and were the one who forced me to go in the first place," Lucy countered lamely as a desperate last attempt._

 _"Your sessions with Natsu will be arranged so they won't intercept with both of your extracurricular activities," Erza said placidly._

 _Lucy sighed and reluctantly agreed. "But I can't guarantee that he'll pass his classes though," she warned._

 _Erza nodded. "Just try your best, Lucy." She fidgeted and pushed her empty plate that once held the strawberry cake towards the center of the table._

 _"Lucy, I think we should engage in friendly girl talks more often where I'm not forcing you to partake in any action," Erza said encouragingly and stood up to leave. She hugged Lucy by banging her head to her chest._

 _"You think?" Lucy grumbled and held her head in her hand. Oh, how glad she was that Erza didn't wear armor._

 _This was how Lucy ended up in this mess right now._

 **END FLASHBACK**

"I'm hungryyyyyyy, Lucy," Natsu whined.

"Deal with it." Lucy snapped. "You'll eat after you mastered this. I decided we'll start with simple divison instead."

She slapped down a worksheet onto Natsu desk. Natsu scanned the worksheet and opened his mouth to complain.

"This says its for third graders! I'm not completely stupid!"

"Wow, surprising." Lucy raised her eyebrows and folded her arms. "If what you claim is true, then you shouldn't have any trouble completing this worksheet."

Natsu, challenged, pumped up his fist. "I'll show you!" He grabbed the worksheet and started working on it. His brows were furrowed in concentration. Lucy sighed in relief and relaxed. Finally some peace, even if it was temporary.

"I'm finished!" Natsu yelled jumping up from his seat. Lucy gritted her teeth in annoyance. What did she expect? It was a worksheet meant for 3rd graders. As dumb as he was, if he had problems with _that_ as a 11th grader, then there wasn't any hope left for him.

Lucy took the paper and scanned it. Her eyes trained on the last word problem of the paper.

 _4) Marcus told his class that the people in his family has 16 legs all together. Albert said that he must have 8 people in his family. Is Albert correct? Explain._

In Natsu's messy, barely legible handwriting, he wrote _Yes, because 16 divided by 2 is 8. But, not everyone has 2 legs. Have respect for veterans of war_.

Lucy growled at the little note at the bottom. "Dragneel," she said in a stony voice. Natsu gulped. He was in trouble.

"It didn't ask for a opinion. You might get points taken off for being off-topic. When being tested, the people grading it doesn't have a sense of humor."

"Well, they have a better sense of humor than you do. Besides, what kind of 11th grade test is going to have these kind of question?" Natsu grumbled.

"And yet, you failed to complete the task," Lucy muttered darkly.

"You're just heartless," Natsu snapped back.

"What did you say?" Lucy said it like statement rather then question. Her voice went from vicious and annoyed to flat and toneless. A dark aura flared around.

"It's true though,"Natsu said defensively. "You treat any boy, whether nice or mean, like trash. You rule this school with fear. What is it with you? Why do you-?"

"Go fuck yourself," Lucy snapped. "This lesson is over." She got up and walked away out the classroom.

Natsu was left confused and staring after her.

xxxxxxxxxx

Lucy was mentally screaming at herself. Sure she never let her cruel rejections and attitude in the past bother her but with that one sentence, Lucy felt horrible. _What will mama think?_ Lucy thought depressed. Her mama always taught her to be loving, kind, and considerate. _What will mama say if she saw me right now?_ She wasn't heartless, was she? _You can let what one man did in the past haunt you forever Lucy,_ she scolded herself. _You have to let go._

She bit her lips and shook her head clearing her thoughts before her mind traveled back to her childhood. She'll go back tomorrow and excuse herself for her actions to Natsu. As much as her distaste in boys, she was raised a lady. Lucy shouldn't let what Natsu said bother her this much.

 **POV** : Natsu

"And she just stormed off!" Natsu complained to Gray the next morning at school. He hadn't been trying to be funny or mean. Natsu just spoke his mind.

"Well, you were kind of jerk," Gray commented. "Still, I can't believe that you're going to get kicked off the team if you don't pass." He punched Natsu on the arm. "Now you done it Flamebrain!"

"Nah, I could believe it. Salamander skips class like nobody's business. I feel like I'm losing brain cells just talking to him sometimes," Gajeel, another member of _T_ _he DragonSlayers_ , spoke ruffly.

"What did you say?!" Natsu growled and tackled them. An all out brawl started between them. No one spared them a second glance. This happens way too often. Besides, something of greater interest was happening in the school yard.

 **POV:** Levy Mcgarden

Do they never learn? Yet another guy was kneeling with one leg down and hands extended.

"Oh, my darling! It was love at first sight. Your beauty never ceases to take my breath away!" a dark crimson trousled haired guy declared at Lucy. "I hereby announce my love for you _again_ in front of the entire school!"

Levy sighed. He was going to get rejected obviously. _But why did Lucy look so hesitant?_ she wondered _._ When Lucy quickly regained her cold demeaning posture and smiled icily, Levy thought she had imagined it. A crowd has gathered to watch the show. Levy scowled at them. Why the hell did they enjoy seeing someone so harshly humiliated will be forever be a mystery to her.

"Again?" Lucy raised her eyebrow. "I don't think I've ever seen you before until now."

The guy looked deflated for a second but bounced back with twice the amount of energy. "I'm Dan Straight! I asked you out yesterday, my dear lupie-pie."

Levy could faintly remember him from yesterday. Lucy has rejected him quickly without a second glance and without criticism seeing how she was still torn over the fact that she had to tutor Natsu Dragneel.

Lucy sighed. "Ah, yes. I had the feeling you will ask again so I took the liberty of asking my maid to conduct a background research on you."

Dan smiled dreamily. "So you'll be willing to live your life with me?"

"Just the opposite in fact." Lucy took out a list and started reading aloud from it.

"Dan Straight. 5 foot and 22 inches. 216 pounds. Age 19. Former student of Zentopia Academy. The star member of their fencing team. Son of a wealthy businessman," Lucy announced. "A restraining order was put on you numeral times by several different girls. They had stated that you were over infatuated with them and followed them with no hint of letting up. Recent activities: You had been visiting the doctor a lot lately seeking medicine for-," Lucy smiled coldly and looked up at him.

"Diarrhea, is that correct?" she continued.

Levy felt bad for the boy when he turned red and stuttered. A lot of people in crowd muttered in disgust and shifted away from him.

"That's not all," Lucy said. "You happen to have post a 12 chapter long fanfiction about the Twilight saga 2 years ago with you as the main character. "

Lucy giggled. Not the cute and friendly kind of giggle but the kind people make when you know they're badmouthing you. "Dan the 'hot' vampire, huh? And apparently one of your ex didn't seem too fond of you. She had quite a nickname for you, _Small dick_. "

The entire crowd laughed at him, giggling and murmuring. Lucy rolled up the list and tossed it at Dan who was so red that it matched Erza's hair color.

"You shall now receive the name _loose bowels_." Lucy turned around and headed towards the school. Levy hurried after her trying to catch up.

Levy could understand, as cruel as her rejections were, why boys kept trying. Lucy was pretty. Like, movie star pretty. She has flawless skin and an amazing figure(it didn't hurt to mention that she also has a huge chest that every girl envied). Her golden blonde hair and soft chocolate brown eyes is enough to make any guys melt like pudding. Her great sense of style only added to the list. It was official. Lucy is a grade A bombshell. There were even girls who approached her and tried to ask her out though they were declined politely.

"Hey Lu-Lu!" Levy chirped happily when she caught up with Lucy.

She turned around and smiled at her. "Hey, Levy!" Lucy slowed down for Levy and complained. "Every boy thinks they're special and different from the others. They're just leading them self into a delusion."

"Yeah, well they do need something to keep their confidence up after you crushed hearts after hearts," Levy remarked.

Lucy stayed quiet for a moment and spoke uncertainly. "Levy, do you think I'm cruel?"

Levy blinked in surprise. She thought about it. Lucy was like a goddess to most girls in the school seeing how majority of them were rejected once in the past. They admire her for being the one doing the rejections instead. She is someone everyone wished they could be. But no, Lucy was never cruel. Despite her cold exterior to the other gender, she actually has a warm heart and attracting personality.

Even as close as they were, Lucy never told Levy much about her past. Levy only knew that she was the daughter of a wealthy businessman, Jude Heartfilia, the CEO of Heartfilia konzern. But that was common knowledge.

"No, Lucy. You're the kindest person I've ever meet! You were one of few people who made friends with me when I first moved here." The others were Gajeel, Natsu, Erza, Gray. And of course, Jet and Droy. They were nice but a bit too obsessed with her.

Lucy's sad, conflicted expression was gone. A mischievous smile replaced it. "Any chance that Gajeel is one of them?"

Levy flushed brightly. Lucy's smile grew brighter. "Oh well, I guess he worthy enough of you." Lucy leaned closer. "Just hurry up and have se-" Levy screamed and flailed her arms around.

"Not so loud, Lucy!" Levy yelped. "Me and Gajeel are just friends!"

"Aw, a little shy are we?" Lucy smirked.

"What happen to the Lucy who needed comfort just a minute ago?" Levy grumbled. Despite Lucy's usual hostility towards men, she was quite teasing and supporting when it came to Levy's love life to her dismay. Thankfully, she was saved by Erza who approached them just in time.

"Hello. You two look quite cheery this morning," Erza greeted politely.

Lucy playfully rolled her eyes. "You don't have to be so polite with us, Erza. After all, we are good friends."

Erza nodded her head. "Yes, I shall remember that." She took out a notepad and scribbled the note down. "Please feel free to strike me for my impudence."

Both Lucy and Levy sweat dropped. "That won't be needed," Levy said quickly.

"Ah, that brings me to the reason I have engaged you this conversation." Erza looked at Lucy straight in the eye, making her nervous. "How was your lessons with Natsu?"

Lucy looks flustered as she tried to speak. "It was fine. He wasn't as stupid as I originally thought," Lucy said quickly.

Erza nodded, pleased. "Very well, I will shall see you in class." She left, departing for class.

As soon as Erza left, Levy whirled around to face Lucy.

"Spill." It was quite obvious that Lucy was hiding something.

Lucy sighed and told her everything not even bothering to deny anything.

"Damn. You just walked out on him?"

Lucy covered her face, ashamed. "I was angry!"

"You should apologize, Lu-Lu," Levy said crossly. She knew Natsu ever since she transferred into this school. He was kind and fiercely loyal to his friends though he can be dense and clueless at times. He had stood up for her when she was being teased by other girls. He had scared them away, unintentionally seeing how one of the most popular boys in the school was berating them.

Lucy sighed. "Course, I will."

 **POV:** Lucy

He didn't show. Natsu Dragneel didn't show. _I'll send Erza after him_ , Lucy thought savagely. She was irritated and felt no mercy. And after she spent so much time feeling guilty.

Lucy's phone vibrated with a text message from Levy.

 _Levy: r u finish tutoring him yet. im done at the library._

 _Lucy: he didnt show_

 _Levy: oh. at least he got u back_

 _Lucy: hey! i was going to apologize_

 _Levy: lol jk. im sure he didnt mean anything by it._

 _Lucy: i know. meet u outside the school._

She sighed. Feeling angry over someone like Dragneel only wastes her time. It was his loss, not hers. Natsu was the one being kicked off the soccer team if he failed. Still, Lucy felt a lump in her throat. She swallowed. This situation brought back painful, past memories. She hurried out of the classroom before tears could surface.

xxxxxxxxxx

Lucy and Levy were walking home from school in the late noon's by the canal. The sun was setting, painting a beautiful mix of colors over the sky.

"The ending to the book was just dreamy!" Levy gushed.

"Lucky. I could've spent the time reading but nooooooo. Curse my nice soul," Lucy grumbled.

Levy giggled. "Tell that to the boys you rejected."

Lucy smiled, managing a grin.

"You could always try tomorrow," Levy suggested.

"Hell no," Lucy said firmly.

Levy opened her mouth to comment before Lucy grabbed her arm and yanked her behind her.

"Ow, what was that for?!" Levy yelp.

"Sorry, but I think someone is following us," Lucy said. Her eyes darted alertly around their surrounding.

Right on cue, a group of rouge looking men appeared out of the shadows. "Aw, lookie. What do we got here?" the apparent leader of the group cooed.

Lucy's eyes swept over them. 5 guys that weren't much older then they were. Levy gripped Lucy's arm tighter, her eyes widened in fear. Shit.

"Two girls who are minding their own business," Lucy responded coldly. "You should too." Normally it wasn't a smart idea to talk back a someone who's going to mug you but Lucy had learned the hard way that if you don't stand firm, people won't hesitate to walk over you.

"This ones got a mouth, Bacchas," one of the gang member with long blonde hair sticking up and parting in the middle crackled. "I call dibs." He moved towards Lucy.

"Like hell you're touching me," Lucy spat out. She slammed the palm of her hand onto his chest. Caught by surprise, he stumbled and tried to grab onto something to keep his balance. He slipped and with a scream, fell into the canal.

 _One down,_ Lucy thought. She smiled prettily at the boys. "Take your best shot."

The leader, Bacchas, growled. "Get her, Quatro Cerberus!" They howled out the word _wild_ and jumped at them.

Lucy posed in a fighting stance, grabbed the arm of one the attackers and slammed him into one of his fellow gang members. She tripped one of the lankier guys and secured the leader, Bacchas, in an arm lock. He cried out in agony. Lucy threw him onto his buddies who were tripping over their legs trying to get up.

 _Pathetic,_ Lucy thought. They have zero fighting experience. _Remind me to thank Erza for forcing me to take Taekwondo, later._

Levy cried out behind her. Lucy whirled around and mentally cursed at herself. There, dripping from the canal water, was one of the members. He held a knife to Levy's throat. He smiled dryly.

"Hand your valuables over, baby doll."

 **POV:** Natsu

He didn't know why he skipped the tutoring session. Lucy was definitely scary and there's the fact that everything was freakishly boring but he knew that wasn't it. Natsu was coming home from the park after a soccer match with his friends when he heard the scream.

He didn't even hesitate to run toward the source. Someone needed help.

As he came into view, he saw Levy and Lucy surrounded by a bunch of gang members though some appeared bruised. One of them were holding a knife to Levy's throat.

"Hey!" Natsu yelled, furious. He flew along the street and tackled the guy whose knife skidded into the canal. Lucy snapped out her phone.

"Scram or we'll call the police. I'm so going to make you pay," she growled threateningly. Normally, it doesn't work when your talking to someone who meant harm but she was on full scary mode. Lucy vibrated anger and had a dark expression on her face that's enough to rival Erza's. It also helped that Natsu was there glaring at them angrily.

They scrambled hastily, tripping over their own feet trying to get away.

Once gone, Natsu turned to Levy who was on the ground crying.

"You okay?" he asked awkwardly.

"Course she not," Lucy snapped at him. Her voice turned softer as she turned to Levy.

"Levy, do you need to go to the hospital?"

Levy shook her head and managed a weak smile. "I'm okay." She sniffed lightly and wiped away her tears. "Remind to take taekwondo with you next time Lucy. You totally kicked butt."

She turned to Natsu and smiled hugely. "Thank you for helping us."

"I just did what I had to help my friends," Natsu said returning Levy's smile. Levy turned to Lucy and elbowed her.

Lucy sighed. "Thanks, I guess," she said grudgingly. They all stood there for that awkward moment not saying anything.

"Dragneel," Lucy said breaking the silence. "I'm going to get you to pass your classes whether you want it or not." Her eyes flashed defiantly.

"You're gonna pass with flying colors." With that one sentence, Natsu's life changed forever.

 **AUTHOR NOTE:**

Yeah, I know. Lame ending. But at least I finished chapter two, two days earlier then I hoped, too! Thank you to everyone who read my story! Every time when someone else comments, follows, or favorites the story I so get excited. My mom is starting to think I'm crazy. You're probably tired of hearing this but THANK YOU! I hope this chapter reached your expectations. I made it longer then the last one. I promise I'll include more romance in the next chapter for those who wants more. Please don't kill me in the comments and I apologize for any grammar errors.


	3. Chapter 3

**POV:** Lucy

After the incident, Lucy reported the thugs to the police. Turns out they had been giving them troubles too, bothering the civilians and calling themself the Quatro Cerberus. They thanked her as she gave them the description and the name of the leader, _Bacchas_. The police were still currently looking for them.

And as for why Lucy promised Natsu that she was going to get him to pass, Lucy told herself it was because now she owned him a debt. She hated owning anyone. Lucy wanted to get it off her back as soon as she can. It clearly wasn't working.

Lucy had told him to meet her in the chemistry room. She had labeled every chemical so that idiot won't accidentally swallow or touch anything toxic though that certainly will make her job a lot easier.

"We're making slime today. It's easy and won't be much trouble," Lucy said. She pointed to table with ingredients. "The instruction are there. I'll monitor your activities to make sure you don't blow up the entire school."

"Woah, you can actually do that?!" Natsu eyes shone with excitement and wonder.

"Don't you even think about it," Lucy snapped. "Some of us will like to have the school remain intact."

Lucy sat down on a seat opposite of Natsu's and watched him work. She occasionally added pointers and advice. At one point she must've drifted off to sleep seeing to how much hours she had poured into finding the Quatro Cerberus. It was one of Lucy's biggest mistake.

An obnoxious smell hit her nostrils. Even in her sleep, it startled her awake.

"What the hell did you do?!" Lucy yelped at him.

"I don't know! I just did something and added these two thingies and then everything just sorta started stinking up!"

Lucy held her nose and leaned forward and looked at what Natsu did.

"Idiot! You added hydrogen sulfide and ammonia!"

"Okay?" Natsu said confused.

"That makes a stink bomb!" she growled out.

"Uh, oops?" Natsu said sheepishly. Lucy gritted her teeth. _Do not punch, Do not punch , Do not punch,_ Lucy chanted as a motto in her head.

"We should get out of the room. It's really starting to stink," Lucy said scathingly.

xxxxxxxxxx

"I can't believe they had to evacuate the entire school," Lucy said amazed as the school cleared out. Thankfully, there wasn't much students or teachers left seeing how it was afterschool.

Lucy turned to Natsu. "I honestly have to say I'm amazed. I never seen a chemical react this fast, much less this effectively. What _did_ you do?"

"I'm amazing that way," Natsu boosted.

She snorted. "Amazing at causing unnecessary trouble. Where the hell am I suppose to tutor you now?"

"How about your house?"

"As if I'm inviting a boy over. Besides, they're renovating my house so even I can't enter," Lucy said rolling her eyes.

Natsu grabbed her wrist and pulled her with him as he ran. "To my house it is, then!" He declared.

Lucy struggled and tried to pull her hand out of his grip but man, he was strong. She gave up eventually and they ran for a while before arriving seeing how his house wasn't too far away.

"We're here!" Natsu declared happily and knocked on his door. It wasn't a bad looking house. It was two stories high with a nice back garden. It wasn't a complete mess as she had expected it to be, seeing how this was where Natsu lived after all.

"Hey, old geezer! Open up the door will ya?" Natsu yelled.

"I'm coming, you little brat. I still have to walk to get to the door ya'know!" A voice called out from the inside. Lucy was stunned by the fact that they addressed each other with such familiarity. If she had addressed her father that way, she'll surely get a slap on the wrist and an hour long lecture.

The door opened revealing a ruffled, energetic looking man somewhere between his 40's and 50's. He had long orange hair that was slicked back and wore a ragged looking pair of jeans with an ordinary t-shirt.

"Yo, Gildarts. This here is Luce and-"

"YOU BROUGHT HOME A GIRL!? God, I never thought this day will come!" Gildarts exclaimed in joy. He chuckled and gave Natsu a friendly punch on the arms. "Finally! It was about time."

Natsu opened his mouth to object as Lucy was going to do before he had interrupted them again. "Hey, you aren't bad looking! Natsu could use someone like you. It is damn tiring taking care of this brat!" Gildarts said turning to Lucy and giving her the once over. "Nice catch, Natsu. They don't make bodies like that in ages-"

"Excuse me! I'm sorry but I'm only here to tutor your son," Lucy said impatiently, face blushing bright red. She wasn't usually this rude but he was really getting on her nerves. _Like father, like son_ she supposed.

"Aw, no need to be shy! I'll be embarrassed too if I were dating this idiot-" Gildarts cooed.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY OLD MAN?! I COULD TAKE YOU ON RIGHT NOW!" Natsu jumped at Gildarts. Lucy gasped, expecting them to collide but Gildarts only caught Natsu and slung him over his back like nothing.

"Kid, it's a hundred years to early for you to take me on. But I'll kick your butt anytime," Gildarts laughed. Natsu screamed a barricade of curse word at Gildarts that was enough to make Lucy's ears bleed.

"Oh, yeah! Where are my manners?" Gildarts scolded himself. "I'm Gildarts Clive, caretaker of these brats. Come on in!" He told Lucy.

 _What kind of messed up family is this?_ she thought in horror and a bit of amusement.

"Wendy, we have a guest! Your brother finally got himself a girlfriend!" Gildarts called gleefully called upstairs.

"It's not like that!" Lucy protested. She stopped her complaints when she saw a sweet young girl around the age of 13 step down the stairs. She had long blue hair with just the most innocent looking face. In her arms she carried a white cat.

"Hello!" she squeaked nervously. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Wendy, Natsu's sister. And this is Carla," she said lifting her cat up.

Lucy's heart melted at the adorable sight before her. "It nice to meet you too! I'm Lucy." She shot a meaningful look at Gildarts, "and I'm here to tutor your brother. He needs help with his grades. I'm _not_ his girlfriend."

Too bad Gildarts wasn't listening as seeing how he was busy laughing as Natsu, which had somehow gotten off Gildarts back, was chasing him around the house.

Lucy stared dumbfounded by the sight in front of her. It wasn't everyday she see's a family act so... well family-like. She smiled to herself as a bittersweet feeling settled over her.

"I'm so sorry! I apologize for their behavior!" Wendy cried and bowed down at her over and over.

When Lucy finally calmed her and assured her that she wasn't upset, she was starting to think that no one in this family was normal.

"Oh yeah! Luce, you're suppose to tutor me!" Natsu exclaimed as he skidded to a stop. _Gee, what made you think that,_ Lucy thought, riddled with sarcasm.

"My room's upstairs!" He dragged her up the stairs.

"I'm perfectly capable of walking by myself!" Lucy growled out. And what kind of stupid nickname was _Luce_?

"I know but you're so slow," Natsu complained. She scowled at him.

"Who are you calling slow?" she glared. Natsu, who ready to reply was once more interrupted by Gildarts.

"The condoms are in the second drawers of the bathroom!" Gildarts called up.

Lucy choked on her own spit while Natsu yelled down at Gildarts. "You got problems, you perverted old man!" Poor Wendy, corrupted at such a young age.

 **POV** : Narrator

The tutoring session went horrible. Lucy didn't make any sense and he kept dozing off. Natsu won't stop making paper airplanes out of his notes which somehow always ended up 'accidentally' hitting Lucy. Needless to say, Natsu was relieved when dinner came, more so then usual which was saying a lot.

"Review pages 219 to page 230 and the notes I made for you. They'll be on your biology test on Monday," Lucy grumbled tiredly. Both of them was more then glad to end the session. Natsu escorted Lucy downstairs and she was about to leave when Gildart screamed.

"Halt!" He yelled and glared at Natsu. "Where are your manners, kid? You ought to invite your girlfriend to stay for dinner! You two were so busy cuddling upstairs that me and Wendy didn't even get a chance to properly know her!"

Both of them face palmed. It was no use trying to convince Gildarts that they weren't a couple. Natsu was also completely drained after that long and torturous lesson.

"Sure," he said wearily. "Stay for dinner. If you don't want to, feel free to go home." Natsu's eyes and body language screamed _GO HOME! JUST GO HOME!_

Lucy scowled at him. He can tell that she was still pissed off about the lesson. A smirk grew on her face that gave him a bad feeling.

"Sure. Since you so asked nicely," Lucy said smiled sweetly.

 _Oh, she's just doing this to spite me_ , Natsu though through gritted teeth. He ignored the urge to punch her. He really had thought that she'll be nicer after the whole incident with the Quatro Cerberus and improve her attitude. Maybe they could've been friends. That had been the reason why he had been so eager to invite her over.

"Great," Natsu said with a fake cheer that fooled no one (maybe except for Gildarts) and drifted to the dining room.

"What are we eating today?" Natsu called out.

Gildarts winced. "Uh, yeah. About that..."

"Please don't tell me you forgot to order takeout," Natsu moaned. Dealing with Lucy had really drained his strength. Besides, Gildarts didn't know how to cook so they've been eating takeouts for the last few months. All Gildarts knew was how to make was scrambled eggs which gets really tiring after the first few weeks.

"I can order pizza!" Gildarts said like in a manner as if he had found the greatest solution to everything in the world.

"Gee, try to at least have the food before you invite someone over for dinner," he grumbled.

"I didn't. You did. Remember, Natsu?" Gildarts reminded him smugly. Of course that invited in another fight.

Wendy nervously approached Lucy. "Should we stop them?" Lucy asked Wendy worriedly.

"It's okay. This happens all the time," Wendy assured Lucy. "Its been weeks since they visited the hospital because of a fight ."

That didn't assure Lucy.

She peered into the kitchen. To her amazement, it was fully stocked.

"Hey! I could make dinner!" Lucy cheered happily. Wendy's eyes widened.

"Really? You would do that?" Wendy whispered amazed, eyes filling with tears of joy and relief. Finally, after eating takeout for so long, they could finally have a taste of real food. For them, it was like an angel bestowing a gift upon this household.

"Uh, yeah sure, I guess," Lucy said awkwardly.

And so, twenty minutes later, a beautiful feast sat on the once barren table. Wendy, who had helped out with Lucy in the kitchen was overjoyed. She had apparently had gotten over her shyness. Wendy and Lucy were now chatting away like old friends. For Natsu it didn't really matter. _They had real food!_

He and Gildarts dug in savagely, eating like they never seen food before. Lucy, who was unfortunate enough to get seated next to him(due to Gildarts insisting), had food splashed all over her clothing.

"Will you watch it!?" she hissed.

Natsu looked up and took a breath for the first time since he had started eating. "Hey, this is actually good! You're not a complete monster after all, Luce!"

A dark aura enveloped her. "Who are you calling a monster?" she growled. Lucy snatched away Natsu's plate and held it away from him.

"No food for you until you apologize."

"But Lushiiiiiiiiii...," Natsu whined and grabbed for his plate, resulting in a game of tug a war.

Gildarts looked at them in amusement. "Ah, young love."

"We're not in love!" they both yelled in unison. Carla had then entered the room with a male cat trailing behind her. He leapt onto Lucy's lap and curled up, purring.

"Oh, hey Happy!" Natsu chirped. "Where you been?" The cat meowed back as if he was answering.

"He seems to like you better then Natsu, Lucy," Wendy noticed.

Natsu clutched his chest dramatically. "How could you betray me, Happy!?" Happy meowed back and purred harder on Lucy's lap in response.

Lucy giggled. "Take that, Natsu. Just one question. Why the hell is he blue?"

"Oh," Natsu said. He glared at Gildarts. "It's his fault."

"How's that my fault?!" Gildarts cried.

"You were dumb enough not to be able to tell the difference between a blue dye bottle and a shampoo bottle!"

"Well, if you're so smart, you wash the damn cat next time. Besides, why would you have a blue hair dye? Wanted to hide that dumb looking pink hair of yours?" Gildarts grumbled.

As the argument escalated, Wendy approached Lucy.

"Lucy...?" Wendy asked nervously. "Can you teach me how to cook?"

"Yeah!" Natsu agreed, stopping the argument, bobbing his head enthusiastically. He understood Wendy's intention. No one wanted to go back to just eating takeouts. Or worst, actually ending up eating Gildart's cooking. "Or better, you can cook for us everyday!"

Lucy glanced at them nervously. Everyone at the table were making sad, pleading puppy eyes at her. Even the two damn cats.

She sighed. Lucy can't refuse. Her tongue just won't let her say the word no.

"Fine."

Gildarts and Natsu cheered happily.

"I officially approve of your girlfriend, Natsu." Gildarts grinned. "She's awesome. Wish I had a chick like that." Natsu and Lucy both protested at this comment.

Wendy was the only one who seemed uncertain. "If you don't want to, it's fine," she stresses.

"It's okay, Wendy," Lucy assures.

"Yeah! Wendy you're too polite sometimes," Natsu said.

"I wonder how she ended being related to you," Lucy muttered. "I still don't see the resemblance between you and Gildarts either except for the personality."

They laughed. "Oh, we're not related," Gildarts chuckled. "I'll die if I were the father of these brats. I'm actually their godfather. I'm temporary in charge of them."

Lucy gave a questioning look. "Where are your parents then?" She regretted asking that question as soon as it fell out of her mouth. A silence fell over the table and the cheerful mood was shattered.

"Grandeeney is in Africa acting as a nurse to help the sick ones. And their father Igneel...," Gildarts trailed off.

Natsu continued solemnly. "In the army. Declared missing in action."

Lucy opened her mouth stunned. _Oh_.

"I'm..." She stopped. When her mother, Layla had died, she had heard countless apologies from other people. They never helped, just add to her growing bitterness. No one can say anything to take away the pain of when you lost someone that meant the world to you.

"Igneel's alive," Natsu said confidently. A strange fire burned in his eyes. "He's a tough old man and won't go out so easily." All Lucy could do was nod and bring up a weak smile. Even with Natsu's positive attitude, Wendy looked unsure and ready to cry and Gildarts was hesitating as if he was considering on crushing any remaining hope that he had left by telling him the bleakness of the situation.

"I should go home. It's getting late," Lucy spoke trying to clear away the dark mood.

Gildarts nodded. "Hey, Natsu. Escort her home."

"Why me?" Natsu complained. He was tired and wanted nothing more then to jump on his fluffy bed upstairs and fall asleep.

Lucy smiled at Gildarts. "It's okay . I'm staying at my friend's house while my house is being renovated. It's not far from here."

"Then Natsu shouldn't have any problem accompanying you there. You never know, it might be dangerous out there, right Natsu?" He smiled darkly at him. Natsu gulped.

"Uh, yeah sure!"

"Great! Wendy will help me clear the table! Bye, come again soon!" Gildarts exclaimed. Wendy shyly nodded at Lucy and waved goodbye as she headed home.

xxxxxxxxxx

"They should be able to get the stink cleared out by the time we're back in school," Lucy said. Today was a Friday and the weekends might be enough time for the school to clear the odor the stink bomb has caused.

"If I had known they would evacuate the school because of a little smell, I would've dropped a stink bomb ages ago," Natsu grumbled. His eyes lit up mischievously. "Hey, you think Gray will know if I put a stink bomb in his locker?"

Lucy sighed. "Please don't. You're failing as it is and you don't need to miss out on any other classes."

He pouted. "But the classes are soooo boring."

"Actually try paying attention next time." Lucy stopped. "We're here." They stood in front of Levy's house awkwardly.

"Well, goodbye Dragneel," she said stonily and enters the house.

"Night', Luce," He calls back. He grins as he watches her disappear.

She was definitely warming up to him.

"What the hell are you still doing here? Go back home you pink headed idiot! I tire of your presence," Lucy snapped at him from the second floor bedroom window, seeing as to how he was still standing there.

Or maybe not.

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Too early to update? Sorry! It's spring vacation where I'm at and school's out for a week. Just sooooooo bored. I have nothing to do except for working on my story. I know, I have no life. Do any of you have any good tv show or movie recommendations you can give me? I seriously need something to do. I apologize for any grammar errors.


	4. Chapter 4

Lucy was enjoying a Dragneel-free weekend in complete bliss but like everything in life, nothing ever lasts. When Monday came, she dragged herself out of bed to the bathroom.

She looked at herself in the mirror and sighed. _New day, new story,_ Lucy said to herself. It had became a daily routine everyday, hoping that something might happen to break her out of the usual boredom.

She had recently moved back into her house. It still smelt like paint but Lucy was glad to be back home. She didn't feel comfortable bothering Levy about letting her stay over.

Lucy switched to her uniform and went downstairs to prepare breakfast. She was halfway through when a knock at the door interrupted her. She blinked in surprise. No one she could think of would visit her at this time. It couldn't be Levy. She lived on the other side of town and took a completely different route to school.

"Lucyyyyyyyyy! You in there?" someone called outside.

A tick formed on her forehead. _Why?_ The world must hate her, making Lucy deal with him this early in the morning. She walked to the door.

"What do you want?" she said annoyed, calling through the closed door.

"Jeez, try to at least act happy," Natsu grumbled under his breath. "I just wanted to see my wonderful friend," he said sarcastically.

Lucy snorted and yanked open the door. She stood angrily in the doorway with a hand on her hip.

"Cut the crap. Just get to the point-" Lucy stopped as she saw Natsu. He was completely drenched. Water dripped from his clothes and hair. Mud stained his shoe and face. Even his schoolbag was dripping. And to Lucy's annoyance, also made a huge mess in front of her door.

She was immediately snapped out of her sleep driven state. "What the hell happened to you?!"

"I was doing my daily laps and I, um, kinda got into a fight with this weird blue-headed girl at the park. I-"

Lucy held up her hand. "I don't even want to know. Just go home to change or something."

"But Lucy," he whined, "It's all the way on the other side of Magnolia. It'll take too long to get there. I don't have any money on me right now to take a bus home. Besides, school's starting soon. I happened to be jogging around Magnolia and ended up close to here so-"

Lucy cut him off. "How did you even know where I live?"

"Levy told me," he said casually.

That traitor. Lucy sighed. She might as well let him in. "I'll go get the towels."

Lucy pointed him the way to the bathroom and tossed him the towels.

"I go to the store down the street to buy you some clothing," Lucy called to him. "Just try not to burn down the house."

xxxxxxxxxx

The house reeks of paint from the recent repainting of the wall but somehow Natsu could still get a whiff of a faint but intoxicating scent. Huh, vanilla strawberry.

He diverted his attention to his dripping clothes again. He stripped them off and toss them into the bathtub. When he had dried off, Natsu wrapped a towel around his hip and wandered around the house.

It seems like there wasn't anyone else in the house except for him. _Didn't know Lucy lived alone_ , he thought. Everything was spotlessly clean and nothing seems out of place. He spotted the stair to the second floor and took it.

Natsu sniggered. Imagine Lucy's imagination if he found her room. Better yet, her diary. He knew that Lucy was the kind of girl that likes to keep a diary. He opened a random door on the left.

The decor was mostly pink and girly looking. _Score!_ He found her room on the first try. Everything was still freakishly neat except for her desk. A scatter of paper was spread throughout the surface.

He picked it up and started reading. Usually he wasn't one for reading but it had really caught his interest. Natsu was so immersed in it that he didn't hear Lucy enter the house.

"Dragneel! Where are you?" she called. "If you touch anything, I'll kill you!" She stopped and saw that the door to her room was slightly ajar.

"DRAGNEEL!" she screamed and burst into her room.

Natsu looked up from his reading and gave her a wide grin.

"Hey Luce-"

"LUCY KICK!" she yelled and kicked him in the chest, sending him flying across the room. She clutched the fallen pieces of paper as if it was her baby.

Natsu groaned and rubbed his chest. "You care more about a couple piece of paper then my well being? That's cruel, Luce," he complained.

"Well it's your fault!" she shouted enraged. "You shouldn't go around looking through people's personal belonging!"

"I think you broke a few of my ribs," he groaned, doubling over.

"Oh, quit your whining," she muttered but had a worried look in her eyes. Lucy set the papers down gingerly on the desk and helped Natsu onto the bed.

"Damn, your legs have the power of an elephant," Natsu remarked.

A dark aura flared around Lucy. "What did you say?!"

"It was a compliment!" Natsu said quickly. He had remembered one of Gildarts advice. _Never call or indicate that a woman is fat,_ he recalled. Natsu will very much like to stay alive. "What I mean is you could play soccer with us sometime, you know, with that kind of power," he stumbled making up a excuse.

She humphed. "Yeah right. Like I'm going to play soccer with a bunch of unruly hooligans."

Something struck Lucy suddenly. Her face turned bright red.

"D-Dragneel?" Lucy stuttered.

"Yeah?"

"You're naked."

"Oh crap!" he cursed. "If snow cone's stripping habit is contagious, I'm so going to kill him."

"You were naked because your clothes were wet!" Lucy said exasperatedly. She grabbed the clothes she had brought from the corner store and shoved them at Natsu. She turned away ready to leave the room but Natsu caught her wrist. He got up from the bed and wrapped his arm around Lucy in an embrace.

Lucy was too shocked too push him. He buried his head in her neck. Natsu's hot breath tickled her neck.

"N-Natsu?"

He suddenly broke the embrace and pumped his fist into the air. "Ha! Knew you smelled like Vanilla Strawberry!"

Lucy's face turned beet red. "Y-You pervert! You were smelling me?! That's sexual assault!"

Natsu's blinked at her, confused. "But we did nothing sexual."

Can't argue with that logic.

"Hey, just realized! You called me by my first name!" He smiled widely at her. "That's a first."

"Just get dressed!" Lucy said hurriedly and ran out of the room, shutting the door. Her face was red and heart was pounding a million miles per second. As much as she hated to admit it, Natsu did have a great body. She is a female after all.

 _Natsu is sitting on her bed. In her room. His pink hair, somehow wasn't weird but hot for that second. He turned his onyx gaze to Lucy's eyes and smiled. He opened his mouth and whispered Lucy's name warmly-_

 _Snap out of it,_ Lucy screamed mentally, breaking her dirty thoughts. She has been reading too much romance novels. She rubbed her eyes tiredly. Lucy turned her gaze onto the clock hanging on the wall. Her eyes widened.

"Dragneel! Hurry up, you idiot! We're going to be late!" Lucy yelled hysterically.

Natsu opened the door, fully dress thank god. "Eh. If we're late, we're late."

Lucy grabbed the collar of his shirt and dragged him down the stairs.

"I'VE NEVER BEEN LATE A DAY IN MY LIFE! I'M NOT STARTING NOW!" she shouted at him. They ran out of the house(correction: she dragged him outside) and locked the door.

"I have a spare bike. You can use it," Lucy said hastily and threw a red bike at pedalled furiously towards school.

"Hey! Wait up!" he called.

Lucy looked over her shoulders and smiled for the first time that morning.

"See if you can catch up, Dragneel."

Natsu grinned widely in response. His competitive streak is showing, his heart racing with adrenaline.

"You're going to be eating my dust, Heartfilia."

xxxxxxxxxx

They had made it to school in time, just as the bell rang. Not surprising since they rode like a pair of lunatic. Lucy chained her and Natsu's bicycle and ran off to class.

He is now in his third period class, bored out of his mind.

"What is this class again?" he asked Gray.

"Get your mind out of the dumps, pyro. It's literature," he said. Gray frowned. "The teacher's late today."

Natsu scoffed. "Teacher's pet."

"I'm not a teacher's pet! I try in school and actually pass," Gray looked tauntingly at Natsu. "It's not like I'm the one failing so badly that I'm about to be kicked out of the team. You didn't even wear the school uniform today." He paused for a second. "Never mind. It's already a miracle that you actually attended school at all."

Natsu rolled his eyes. "You don't need to tell me I messed up. I'll try to pass," he grumbled reluctantly.

Gray's eyes widened. "Hm? What was that? I didn't fully get that. Can you repeat it again?"

"Oh, shut up ice princess!" Natsu yelled and swung his arm at him.

"Watch where you're swinging Flame-breath!" Gray said, rising from his seat. Several girls in the classroom squeaked in alarm seeing how Gray was naked again.

"Put some clothes on, pervert!"

"Who are you calling a pervert!? You're the guy who intruded on the girl's locker room!"

"That was your fault!"

"You're the one who's so gullible. And what's with releasing a wild badger in my room?!"

"Revenge, you exhibitionist!"

A fight exploded between them. Most classmates just sat there minding their own business, ignoring their argument. Some of the new students stared at them like they were crazy (they probably were) and edged away from them.

"Is that normal?" one of the new students asked someone nervously.

He didn't even look up from the book he is reading. "You mean them? It happens all the time. You'll get use to it sooner or later."

The girl stared at him, dumbfounded. Everyone in this school are weirdos.

The door swung open and a girl stepped in. Everyone's chatter in the room stopped in a way that no teacher could cause.

"Will you two please stop? Save your bonding with your boyfriend till later," she said coldly.

Natsu and Gray opened their mouth to complain and was stopped dead in their tracks.

"Lucy?" Natsu asked.

She stood behind the desk with a straight back and blank, stern face.

"I'll be your literature teacher for this session. Your current teacher is sick and is unable to attend class. I expect everyone to be disciplined," she said. Normally all hell would've broken loose by now with a substitute teacher but this is the infamous Coldhearted Princess of Fairy Tail High. Everyone felt the chills run down their back.

"Hey Lucy!" Natsu said cheerfully, breaking the tension.

Her cold gaze swept over him. She scowled at him.

Natsu guessed that she was still mad at him for hugging her and almost getting her late, huh?

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

I apologize for this lame chapter. I wrote it hastily and finished it in a day. It took longer then it normally takes for me to update because I had major writer's block. I was going to do a completely different chapter from this one but the words didn't come easily so I thought I should do something different instead. Thank you to everyone who read, favorited, commented, and followed my story. I'm sorry for any grammar errors.

P.S Did anyone see the hint when Natsu got wet? He said he fought with a weird blue headed girl. Juvia is definitely going to appear in my story soon!


	5. Chapter 5

There he was, in the principal's office again. Natsu glared at Gray who glared right back ferociously.

"It was your fault, Ice brain!" Natsu spat at Gray.

"Oh, yeah?! You were the one who started the fight!" The two bickered and stood up ready to start a fight again.

"Ehm," Erza cleared her throat. A dark aura emitted from her. "Sit yourself back down. Or do you two want to get skinned alive?" A strained smile was plastered on her face. Gray and Natsu both gulped. They both knew that look very well. It was the smile that said _prepare for your execution_.

Lucy stood next to Erza with a glare that rivaled Erza's. She held an ice pack to her head. The red lump on her forehead was clearly visible. Natsu would've laughed if Erza wasn't contemplating ways to kill him.

Makarov sat at his chair. "So what happened?"

Gray, Natsu, and Lucy erupted with complaints and angry remarks. Makarov held up his hand.

"Lucy, I can trust you to tell the whole story. You'll go first."

"Yes, master," Lucy nodded respectfully and stepped up. "I was trying to teach the class when those two idiots broke out into a fight. _Natsu,_ " Lucy said scathingly, "threw a chair at Gray and it missed." Thus, the giant lump on her head was born.

"The idiot dissed me! He wrote a limerick about me!" Gray complained.

"You should be honored," Natsu grumbled under his breath. "That will be the only time where anyone is going to dedicate anything after you."

"It wasn't school appropriate," Lucy scowled and pointed out.

Makarov choke down his laughter. "Ah, yes. The limerick?"

Erza had the piece of paper and read it out loud.

 _There once was a boy who's a dick._

 _Lucky for him, he gets to be Natsu's sidekick!_

 _His name is Gray._

 _His behavior is quite gay._

 _So go get a life, ya prick!_

Makarov burst out laughing. "Hey Natsu! Help me write a limerick for my ex, will ya?" Natsu's poetry skill was quite awful but his brats never ceases to chase away the dull days in the office.

"Sure Gramps-" Natsu beamed and stopped when he saw Erza's murderous expression.

"Master! It's your place to put student's in line! Not encourage them to act out of line!"

"Kids are kids," Makarov dismissed. "They got to live a little." Lucy opened her mouth to protest but Erza cut in.

"They destroyed a numerous amount of school property. They broke the window, the wall, the desk and chairs in class. Do you want a estimate of how much repair will cost?" Erza asked smugly. It was always surprising of how much Natsu and Gray can destroy in one of their fights.

Makarov paled when he heard the estimate. "You kids are going to be the death of me!" he roared.

"Erza causes just as many property damage as we do!" Gray protested. "She destroyed half the lunchroom when someone stepped on her strawberry cake!"

"Punishment awaits," Makarov said with a devilish smile spreading across his face. They gulped. It was common knowledge across the school that he got some sadistic pleasure from punishing people in some weird twisted way.

xxxxxxxxxx

"This-," Lucy scowled, "is your fault." She dragged a huge pot over to the serving table. She wore a apron over her daily clothes and an hairnet. Apparently, the lunch ladies had quit their jobs when Erza went into crazy mode and destroyed half the lunchroom. Now as their punishment, they have to serve in their place. Well, at least until the school finds anyone daring enough to take the position at this crazy school.

"I mean, it was you two who destroyed the classroom!" Lucy complained. "Why did I get dragged into this?"

"Oh, Gee, I don't know," Natsu snorted sarcastically. "Maybe the fact that you kicked both of us into a wall?"

Lucy turned bright red and grumbled under the breath, annoyed. Gray and Natsu both wore a apron and hairnet like her. They prod at the murky soup they were serving today and wrinkled their nose.

"Hand me the chicken nuggets," Lucy pointed. Bored, they passed her tray.

Lucy looked curiously at them. "You two don't seem to upset about this."

Gray shrugged. "We get into trouble all the time. There was this one time where Gramps was too cheap to hire a new janitor and had us clean the boy's bathroom as punishment instead."

Natsu shuddered. "We will never forget the horror."

Lucy sighed. Boys will always be boys. She diverted her attention back to the food they were serving. Being a lunch-lady won't exactly be too difficult, will it? Humiliating, sure, but it can't be too hard to just hand food to people. Lucy gagged as she looked at the chicken nuggets they were serving. They were beyond soggy with the outer layer peeling off already.

Natsu laughed at Gray, breaking the silence. "You look stupid, snow cone! The hairnet makes you look like an old grandma!"

"Oh yeah, pyro? Your apron makes you look like a housewife!" Gray shot back. They bickered and it wasn't before long when they were throwing utensils at each other.

Lucy groaned. Yet one more reason why boys were annoying. They seem like good friends despite the fact that they were constantly fighting.

"Hey, watch it!" Lucy yelped as Gray threw Natsu into the tray of food they were supposed to serve. The food spilled all over the floor with a loud clang of trays.

"What-," Lucy said through gritted teeth, "IS WRONG WITH YOU TWO!?" You would think that they would've learned their lesson.

"What are we suppose to serve the students now?!" Lucy groaned. The food was either splattered against the ground or crushed by Natsu.

"No worries!" Natsu assured. "We'll just serve them what's left of the food." He scooped a bunch of soggy chicken nuggets and threw them back into the tray.

"You can't do that! There's hygienic issues and people are bound to notice!" Lucy scowled.

Natsu squinted at the food. "Nah, it doesn't look any different from the usual food they serve us. It already tastes awful anyway."

Well, that's true. The food in the lunchroom are known to be inedible. Only a few unlucky souls who forgot to bring their own lunch ended up eating that stuff. Lucy glanced at the clock. Damn. 47 minutes until lunchtime. Who knows what Makarov would make them do if they fail this task.

"I'll make lunch!" Lucy said exclaimed, desperate for a solution. "Not a lot of people actually eat the school lunch so it shouldn't be any problem!" Lucy rummaged through her backpack and pulled out a piece of paper and pen.

"Gray! These are the ingredients I need. Run to the supermarket and pick these things up," Lucy commanded. "Natsu! Help me out with the kitchen."

They stared at her blankly. "Well?" Lucy demanded. "We don't have all day!" Gray nodded and ran off with the list, heading toward the market. Lucy was in commando mode and there was no stopping her.

Lucy reached out and pulled out ingredients and utensils. She started picking up a knife and slicing the vegetables. Normally schools wouldn't have such things but Fairy Tail high was an elite school, also a weird one at that. Despite the high class state of the kitchen, the school somehow still can't manage to pull out a decent lunch.

"What are we making?" Natsu asked.

"Curry rice. It won't take too long and we have most of the ingredients," Lucy said without looking up. "You do know how to chop onions, right?"

"Uh," Natsu said. "Sure!" He really messed up and he wanted to help Lucy. Besides, chopping onions shouldn't be too hard, right? He moved and picked up a knife and started chopping the onions. The kitchen was filed with silence and the sound of chopping. Lucy was working swiftly. Natsu awkwardly held the knife and stared chopping the onions.

His eyes stung as the juice sprayed on him. "Finished," he called out to Lucy.

"Well, that took you long enough," she said. Lucy frowned as she saw his face. A jolt of emotions shot across her face for a second before returning to her usual stoic expression.

"Are-," Lucy hesitated, "-are you okay?"

"Huh?" Natsu reached for his face and felt that it was wet with tears from the onion juice. "Oh, this? It from the onions."

Lucy relaxed. "Great, stir the pot for me, would you?"

"Aye, sir," Natsu said teasingly. "Say Luce, were you worried about me?"

Her scowl deepened. "In your dreams, Dragneel." She turned and busied her self with the cooking. Natsu blinked in confusion. Girls are weird. He shrugged it off and went back to work.

xxxxxxxxxx

Gray had ran back a few minutes later with the supplies. Lucy was busily finishing up up food.

"Gray, get the trays ready," Lucy said without looking up. She stood up straight and let out a large relieved sight. "Finished!"

"Cool," Natsu said leaning over. "It looks amazing!" He reached a hand over to try it our before Lucy slapped his hand away.

"Don't use your hand!" Lucy sighed exasperatedly. "Here, taste test," she said holding out a spoon with a scoop of the curry rice towards his mouth.

Natsu chomped down happily on the spoon swallowing the rice. "It's so good!" He reached for the entire pot before Lucy snatched it away.

"These are for the students!" Lucy snapped, holding the pot protectively away from Natsu's reach while he chased her around the room. Gray watched them in amusement. They seem to get along quite comfortably. _The cold-hearted princess of Fairy Tail high,huh?_ Gray mused. He hadn't know Lucy really well but shared a class with her before. She always seemed so...secluded. The only person she really talked to was Levy and Erza. It was warming to see her open up with someone, even if Lucy didn't realize it herself. _Like an old married couple_ , Gray chuckled.

The bell rang, signaling the start of the lunch period.

"Hey, flame for brains! Stop fooling around and help me!" Gray yelled at Natsu. It wasn't before long when the lunchroom flooded with people talking. Just like Lucy had predicted, there wasn't much people who came to get lunch from them.

Gajeel Redfox approached Natsu and Gray and burst out laughing. "Gihi," he wiped away tears from his eyes. "Lunch-ladies, now? You two really done it this time, huh?"

"Shut up you piece of rusted metal!" Natsu roared at him. Lucy sighed and handed him a tray.

"Bunny girl, too?" Gajeel laughed.

Lucy glowered at him. "Since when am I bunny-girl?"

"You have that bunny vibe coming off of you," Gajeel said as if that explained everything.

Lucy gritted her teeth. "Jose's pet," she spat out. Gajeel stopped laughing and turned facing her with a deadly look on his face.

"What the hell did you say?" Gajeel said.

"Do you need to get your ears checked out?" Lucy said icily. "I said-," she emphasized each syllable. " _-Jose's pet._ "

Gajeel stepped forward menacingly before a voice stopped him and Lucy from their glaring contest.

"Stop it! Both of you!" Levy commanded, stepping between the both of them. Erza stood beside her. Her hands rested on her hips with her lips pursed.

"Gajeel, there's no need over-react," Levy said in a soothing voice. "Lucy didn't mean it." She turned to Lucy. "Lu-Lu, no need to be so harsh. He was just trying to be friendly."

Lucy scowled and wheeled around walking back into the kitchen, out of sight. "I need some fresh air. You two take care of business here," Lucy said stonily.

Natsu watched her disappear into the background.

"I should go after her," Erza said worriedly. "She gets like this sometimes."

"Nah," Gray cut in. "Let Natsu." He noticed how he watched her go with a concerned expression on her face.

"Oi, why me? She's going to skin me alive," Natsu complained but nevertheless went after her without complaints. Gray watched him go after Lucy smugly.

"What's your game, Snow cone?" Gajeel questioned. He noted how Gray was smirking. It slowly dawned on him.

"No way, Fullbuster. Them two? _Together?_ You got problems. Mira is definitely rubbing off on you," he grumbled incredulously.

Erza and Levy looked doubtful too.

"I agree," Erza said hesitantly. "Lucy's a bit...headstrong." Natsu is the complete opposite of Lucy in every way.

"I don't know," Levy said with a small smile. Lucy had always been so withdrawn. Natsu might be the one to change that. He always had a way about him that brightened the room and brought a smile to the room.

"I kinda like it."

xxxxxxxxxx

"Hey, you ok?" Natsu asked and plopped himself down besides Lucy. She sat out on the schoolyard behind the school, next to some tree that made good cover.

Lucy barely glanced at him. "How the hell did you find me?"

Natsu shrugged. "Dunno. Guess I always find a way back to you." Truth to be told, Natsu always had a sensitive nose. Her distinct vanilla strawberry scent wasn't exactly easy to cover up but if he had said that, Natsu definitely would've gotten a kick in the face.

"Well, that's not creepy at all," Lucy snorted. They remain silent for a while before Natsu broke the silence.

"Back there, you were-"

"-easily butt-hurt," Lucy finished. "Yeah, I know."

"Nah, that's not what I was going to say." Natsu studied her for a while.

Lucy fidgeted for a while. "What?" she snapped.

Natsu gave a large grin and leaned back stretching his arms. "It's just that I don't know why people think you're cold-hearted,"

Lucy gave him disbelieving look. "I practically yelled at you for the entire time we known each other."

"Eh. It's just that you're weird, Luce."

Lucy stared at him gaping. "Don't be stupid," she snorted at him. "You're the one with a blue cat and pink hair."

"It's salmon!" Natsu whined. "Not pink! And Happy looks perfect the way he is!"

Lucy cracked a small smile and looked wistfully into the distance.

Natsu peered into her face. "Ha! There it is!"

Lucy turned and scowled. "What is?"

"Duh," Natsu grinned widely. "That smile! That's only the second time I seen it. You should laugh more often. You look prettier that way."

Lucy felt heat rising to her face. Sure, a bunch of desperate guys had said the same line to her before but none had actually been so sincere and meant what they said. Who wouldn't get nervous after someone says something like that to you?

"S-since when did I care what you think?" Lucy stuttered out, turning away. "Anyway, we should get back. We do need to help Gray with the lunch." Lucy got up and walked hurriedly back inside.

She never meet someone so immune to her insults and her attitude. That only made Lucy more determine to break him.

xxxxxxxxxx

"Finally!" Gray sighed relieved as they returned. A mob of students were grabbing for a tray of food. "Help me! These guys are crazy!"

"Woah, they look like they like your dish, Luce!" Natsu said and ran towards the crowd. "Hey! Save me some!" he yelled.

"You're suppose to help me, pyro! Not join the mob!" Gray shouted at Natsu annoyed.

Lucy stared at the scene before her. A laugh bubbled up inside her. She clamped her lips to keep it down.

"Hey," a ruff voice said. Lucy turned and saw Gajeel. They stood silently for a while.

"I'm sorry," Lucy said dryly. She never liked apologizing much. Her pride always got in the way. Lucy just wanted to get it over with as soon as possible. "I need to learn how to let loose with people once in a while."

Gajeel blinked in surprise. He had hung out with Lucy before seeing how he talked with Levy a lot. She seemed like the harsh and un-moving type. His thought drifted back to what Gray and Levy had said.

"It's okay," Gajeel said turning back to the mob. Natsu had grabbed a tray and ran back to Lucy.

"Behold, your creation!" Natsu exclaimed dramatically, holding up his tray.

Lucy rolled her eyes and allowed herself a small smile. Natsu grinned widely, a strange warm feeling flooding his chest.

 _Weird,_ Natsu thought. He watched Lucy for a while as she rushed to help Gray who was hopelessly getting outnumbered by the mob. Her blonde hair perfectly caught the light and she moved like an angel. He had never seen anyone who looked so perfect. A fluttery feeling filled his stomach, the kind he also gets before a big game.

Gajeel watched Natsu and snorted and clapped his back.

"Good luck, Salamander. You'll need it," Gajeel said, drifting off to find Levy.

"Hey, what the hell is that suppose to mean?!" Natsu yelled at him, left staring after him, confused and drowning in this new feeling.

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Yes! Finished with this chapter. Sorry if you think it's lame or cheesy. I'm so pooped. (Does anyone still use the word pooped?) I have so many tests coming up and the regents are almost here. Noooooo! Wish me luck, people. And there's the fact that I'm just plain lazy. Also, I'm so grateful for those who took time to read my story! THANK YOU! I probably sound so gushy right now. Sorry for those who decided to stick around and having to put up with me. Lol :p

Please excuse the grammar errors ( And don't kill me in the comment section. Yes, I know that somethings here doesn't always apply to real life so calm down)


	6. Chapter 6

Natsu squinted and studied the book in front of him and sighed. This was no use. His mind kept on drifting to other places. Like that weird, warm feeling he had in the lunchroom yesterday.

"Wow, the pyro is trying to study. It must be the end of the word," Gray said in honest astonishment as he approached Natsu.

Gajeel shook his head. "Nah, we might just be seeing things. We probably overdid ourselves at practice."

Natsu snorted. "Oi, It's not that weird."

Gray raised his eyebrows. "Really? And you honestly expect us to believe that?"

Natsu scowled and buried himself back in the textbook. He really didn't feel like arguing. During soccer practice today he kept losing focus. Natsu performed so badly to the point he was pulled out of practice and was told to just rest and sit on the bench. He might as well as study.

"What's wrong with you today, Salamander?" Gajeel questioned. "Usually you play like a madman that's on fire but today..."

"You're like the dead fish Happy lugs around," Gray finishes. "The championship match against Sabertooth is coming up. With today's performance, you can't possibly hope to beat them. Get your head in the game, flame-brain."

"It's just I had this weird feeling yesterday and I can't stop thinking about it," Natsu confessed, looking determinedly at his friends, trying to solve this mystery and get it over with. Like Gray said, he had to get his head in the game.

Gray and Gajeel exchanged a wary glance.

"Say Natsu," Gray said slowly. "Do you experience this specific feeling around a certain person?"

"Huh? Why do you ask?" Natsu stopped and considered it. "I dunno."

"Maybe Bunny-girl?" Gajeel said gruffly.

"You mean Lucy?" Natsu wrinkled his forehead in thought. Well, during the tutoring session yesterday, Natsu couldn't concentrate at all. He notice every little thing about Lucy. Like how she smells like Vanilla strawberry. Also how she gets this little wrinkle on her forehead when she thinking hard. And-

"Hello, Dungfire?" Gray waved his hand in front of Natsu's face. "You still in there?"

Natsu swatted Gray's hand away. "I guess I feel weird around Lucy," he said slowly. "It's like my heart is doing jumping jacks in my chest."

"Do you feel like talking with her and spending every living moment with her?" Gray asked, piercing Natsu's gaze with his questioning look.

"I guess so. I like talking to Lucy," Natsu shrugged. "She's fun to be around. So?"

Gajeel choked on the part where Natsu had said that Lucy was a fun person. Perhaps to Erza and Levy maybe, but never to anyone else. There was nothing fun about getting insulted at 24/7 by the coldhearted princess of the school.

"Er, you sure about that Salamander?" Gajeel muttered. He bit his words when Gray elbowed him in the sides.

"I mean, sure I thought Lucy was a bit scary at first but she's actually really nice," Natsu paused. "She cares about her friends and has a fun side to her. She yells at me a lot but hey, that's what also makes her fun."

"And when she touches you?" Gray asked. "How do you feel then?"

"Geez, what is this? Twenty questions? I thought you guys are going to help solve my problem," Natsu grumbled but nevertheless answered the question. "I feel...I feel like my entire body is aware of that tiny thing."

Gray and Gajeel stared at him and sighed in unison.

"Salamander sure has weird taste in woman," Gajeel grumbled. Gray nodded, agreeing with him.

"Hey!" Natsu protested. "What do you guys mean?"

Gray gave him a pointed glance. "Geez pyro, you're dense."

"You're falling for Lucy, Flame for brain."

xxxxxxxxxx

 _Falling for Lucy?,_ Natsu thought. That was stupid. He thought of her as a friend. Nothing more, right? He hadn't even known her a very long time. Why would he fall for her? She was hardheaded, loud, and well, scary. Even if he did like her (which he did not) his feelings would be totally one-sided.

"The day you realize that Salamander is capable of getting a crush," Gajeel laughed.

"I know right," Gray joined. "The idiot is so dense he probably wouldn't realize it if Lucy-"

"Hey!" Natsu protested. "I'm right here ya'know!"

Gray smiled smugly and turned to look in the distance. "Speak of the devil."

There she was, in all of her blonde glory racing towards Natsu. His heart felt like skipping a beat. Her blonde hair was messed up and thrown carelessly across her shoulder. Her chocolate brown eyes shown. She stopped when she reached Natsu. Lucy was breathing heavily, her face rosy red.

"You idiot!" She scowled and thrust a textbook into his hand. "You forgot your biology textbook!"

Natsu looked at and gave Lucy a wide grin. "Thanks Luce! I owe you once!"

"Of course you do," she scowled. "Be more careful next time. You have a test coming up. You wouldn't want to fail."

"Say, bunny-girl," Gajeel smiled evilly. "You wouldn't have happen to have looked for us and ran around the school just to give Salamander the book, would you?" It was after school and the soccer team had decided to stay behind at the school yard for practice. Everyone else was long gone now.

Lucy's face flushed red. "I-I just remembered he forgot the book and came back to the school to return it," Lucy said defensively.

"Oh. So you were already home?" Gajeel laughed. "You came back from home just to return this? You could've just gave it to him tomorrow you know."

Lucy scowled. "Oh, be quiet. I did a good deed and this is how I get re-payed?" She crossed her arm and pouted.

Natsu laughed. A mischievous grin spread across his face. "Hey Gajeel. How are you and Levy getting along?"

"Just fine," Gajeel said ruffly turning away.

"Oh really?" Gray laughed and lean forward. "I remember seeing you two getting all chummy-chummy."

Gajeel snorted. "What are you? Three?"

An argument exploded between them. Lucy sighed and stood back. She glanced at the time on her phone.

"I gotta head back," Lucy said. "Please continue your childish charades without me." She walked away from them heading back home."

"Hey, Lucy!" Gray yelled. "Natsu will be your escort!"

"Wait," Natsu frowned. "I will?" Gray elbowed him in the side and hissed at him to be quiet.

"Again?" Lucy said without turning. "No thank you. I'm perfectly capable of getting home on my own. I'm a back belt in taekwondo, remember?"

A surge of determination just suddenly burst through Natsu's body. "I'll catch you guys later," He said waving at his friends and jogging over to Lucy.

Gray stood, grinning like crazy after Natsu. "Our baby boy is all grown up and chasing after girls," he sniffed. "So proud."

Gajeel choked on his spit. "Oh please don't talk like that ever again. I'm going to die of disgust."

Gray laughed. "I wonder how it will go."

xxxxxxxxxx

"You know," Lucy said impatiently. "I said I don't want you tagging along."

"Yah," he said and shrugged. "But I just happened to be walking the same way as you are."

Lucy hissed in irritation and looked into the canal water. It seemed so dark and deep despite the sun still being out. Her mind was still on the visit she received from Capricorn, her father's personal butler. She just had to get out of the house and relax. Returning Natsu's textbook had been the perfect opportunity.

"Hey, how about we visit that new cafe _Mermaid Heel_ that just opened down-town?" Lucy suddenly asked. Natsu blinked, looking surprised. The sudden invitation even startled Lucy herself but she desperately needed something to distract herself with.

"Sure, Luce!" Natsu said cheerfully. "I heard their carrot cakes are awesome!"

They walked in awkward silence. It didn't take long for them to reach the cafe.

"Welcome to _Mermaid Heel_!" A black haired girl greeted them cheerfully. She was somewhat chubby with a hippie-like demeanor. "I'm Risley!" She lead them to their seat. "What will you have for today?"

"A carrot cake! Erza told me it was great!" Natsu declared. Lucy sighed and ducked her head down in embarrassment as several other customers looked their way. Natsu just never seem to run out of energy, does he?

Risley looked her way. "What will you have?"

"Same as him," Lucy nodded.

"Great! Your order will be here in a sec!" Risley smiled, walking away leaving them in an awkward silence once more.

"So um," Lucy cleared her throat. "Is class getting any easier for you?" she finished lamely.

Natsu's eyes lit up. "Tons! I got an 57 on my last test!"

"And that's good because...?" Lucy asked, raising her eyebrows.

"That's way better then what I got on my last test!"

Lucy winced. How was she going to teach him? He was one of the worse students she ever taught. Guaranteed, the fact that he was now corporating counts for something.

"Great," Lucy said, drumming her hands of the table and gazing off into the distance. Natsu studied her.

"Are you feeling okay?" he asked.

Lucy's head snapped towards him in surprise. "I am," she lied. "What made you ask?"

"Well for one thing," he drawled. "-You aren't screaming at me like you usually do. And you kept on doing this weird staring off into the distance face. So cliche."

"Well, excuse me!" Lucy fumed. "I don't scream at people! I give advice on how people should improve on their living style. It helps save them from the embarrassment. Plus, the fact that we're sitting together in a cafe is already cliche in its own rights! It's basically a scene straight out of a cheesy romance novel or movie!"

"And who's fault is that? You're the one who invited me!" Natsu shot back.

"And guess who's the one who accepted the offer?" Lucy scowled. She leaned back into her seat and folded her arms.

"I actually try to make friends with people unlike you!" Natsu scowled. "You shot down any boy who asks you out on a date in the most brutal way possible and you barely talk to any other girls other then Levy or Erza!"

"That's because none actually like me for who I am," Lucy said bitterly. "It's always either for my money, looks, or popularity."

Natsu blinked in shock. Was this how Lucy saw everything? Well, all things considered, it was kinda true for concerning some people. He had heard that Lucy was the daughter of a rich businessman and it didn't hurt to admit that Lucy was pretty good looking. Still, there are a lot of good people in the world that doesn't care for those things.

"That's not always true," Natsu argued. "People like-"

"Your cakes are ready!" Risley interrupted, carrying two plates of carrot cake towards them. "Enjoy!"

Natsu's mood immediately lift and dug in as soon as the plate touched the table. "whis is gweat!" he exclaimed through a mouth full of food.

Lucy hesitantly took a small bite of it. A sweet taste and aroma filled her mouth. Her eyes widened as she shoved the cake in her mouth. "No kidding!"

Risley watched them and laughed. "Of course the cake tasted great! Our own Beth made them! She's a great baker." She grinned warmly at them. "I'll leave you two to enjoy."

Lucy nodded and continued eating the cake. "I've never really likes carrot cakes but I think this is now my favorite food!"

"You think?" Natsu grinned at her. He watched her happily munch on the cake.

"Say," he said carefully. "Why do you hate guys so much? What have we ever done to you?" Lucy looked at him with a quizzical expression. "I mean-" Natsu said quickly. "-You don't have to answer it. It's just-"

Lucy sighed and set down her plate. "It's okay. There's nothing to tell, really. It's nothing as dramatic as like getting betrayed by a guy or something." She gave Natsu a smirk. "You can't really help the fact that the majority of the boy population are idiots though."

"Hey!" Natsu protested.

Lucy laughed and turned serious. "It's just the way I grew up didn't exactly give me the best impression on the male gender. I haven't have a good reason to change my mind about the fact that men are basically jerks."

"That's sexist."

"Nope, it's not. What happened to having the right to have your own opinion? It seems like everything has a label nowadays," Lucy stated flatly. "Now that I answered your question, I have one as well."

"Eh, fire away," Natsu shrugged.

"About your father, Igneel," she hesitated. "What was he like?"

"The old man?" Natsu asked surprised. "Well, he was..." he squinted his forehead in concentration. "How do I put it in words?" Natsu grumbled.

"Well! I think the best way to describe him is fiery," Natsu gave a wide grin. "He loves games and competitions. We use to compete all the times and we always gave everything our a hundred percent effort. Once he puts his mind to something, he'll never back down. The old man is always so energetic. It's like he can take on anything. He's also very caring in his own way."

Natsu looked at Lucy. "Did you know that he was the commanding officer of one of the fleets?" Lucy's surprised look told him no.

He laughed. "Yeah, somehow as busy as he is, he always seems to be able to make time to spend with me and Wendy. He was also so supporting when I told him I wanted to start soccer. He never lost any hope in me. Basically, he's the best father anyone could ask for."

"Oh," Lucy said. What else was she suppose to say? His father was missing in action, nowhere to be found. As much as Lucy despise her father, she will still feel horrible if he vanished without a trace.

"Yeah," Natsu said, poking at his cake. "Igneel's tough but...but what if he..." All of his past confidence was gone. Lucy understood. Natsu had wanted to put up a strong shell in front of Wendy so she wouldn't worry. She wouldn't have to go through the same constant doubts and nightmares plaguing Natsu. Lucy had never seen him so down before. He was usually exactly like how Natsu had described his father, Igneel.

"Stupid-head, quit your moping," Lucy scowled and flicked her finger at Natsu's forehead. "You just said that Igneel's tough. He'll be okay."

Natsu nodded vigorously. "Yeah, you're right! No sense in moping. I'll just have to work harder at school and soccer!"

He shoved his cake into his mouth and happily munched. Lucy sighed and shook her head.

"You should really get something to do. You basically have no life other than soccer and schoolwork," Lucy criticized.

"How about you then?" Natsu challenged. "What does the ol'amazing genius have to suggest?"

Lucy snorted, annoyed. He clearly wasn't taking this seriously.

"Well for one thing, you should really get a girlfriend," Lucy joked. "Too bad you'll never find one."

"Hey!" Natsu protested. "I'll have you know that a lot of girls want to date me!"

Lucy blew a strand of hair out of her face. "Excluding fan girls, pyro."

"Then, uh..."

Lucy smirked, laughing internally. "Have you ever even had a girlfriend?"

"I did!" Natsu scowled playfully. "I've been on dates before tons of time!"

Lucy couldn't help it but burst out laughing at his outburst. "With who?" Lucy wiped away a tear of laughter. "Please tell me you didn't go on imaginary dates."

Natsu pouted. "Well, I'm busy! I have soccer practice and all that. It's been a long time since I've been on one."

"I'm surprise you even know what a date is, as dense as you are," Lucy commented.

A thought dawned on Natsu and a grin spread across his face. "Hey Luce?"

"Yeah?"

"You called this a cliche scene straight out of a romance novel. You don't consider this is date, do you?" Natsu grinned.

Lucy's face turned red. "This is a meet-up between friends!" she scowled. Lucy shook her head. "Boys these days," she muttered under her breath.

Natsu laughed. "But yeah, I did have a girlfriend before. You can't say anything about that, can you?" he declared triumphantly.

"Oh gee," Lucy said sarcastically. "Who's the lucky girl?"

"We didn't really stay together that long. Maybe for just a month I think," Natsu shrugged. "We decided that we're better off being friends."

"So, basically," Lucy smirked. "You're saying that she dumped you."

"That's not what happened! I'm too awesome to get dumped!" Natsu bragged. Lucy laughed and leaned back into her seat, enjoying her cake. Somehow, along the lines of the conversation, Lucy had put down her walls. She tensed up as she realized this.

 _What the hell am I doing?_ Lucy scolded herself. _He's just going to disappoint me like everyone else,_ she thought bitterly. Lucy gazed at her cake for a while before she felt a pair of eyes on her.

Lucy looked up seeing Natsu furrowing his eyebrows in concentration and staring at her.

"Would you cut that out?" Lucy snapped. "It's creepy."

"Sorry," he muttered. "Just thinking about something Gray and Gajeel told me." _Me_ _? Like her?_ Natsu incredulously asked himself. _What is wrong with you brain?_

Lucy is hardheaded, loud and scary. He repeated this to himself. _Get over it,_ he snapped at himself. He had to concentrate on soccer. _I will make Igneel proud if... I mean, when he comes back,_ Natsu told himself determinedly.

"It's getting late," Lucy said. "We should get home." Natsu nodded listlessly in thought.

Unknown to both of them, four pairs of eyes were watching them in the nearby bush.

xxxxxxxxxx

"Shhh!" Levy hissed at Gray. "I wanna hear what they're saying."

Erza shifted uncomfortably. "Gajeel, you're stepping on my shoe," she said, irritated. He said a sorry and shifted, pushing Gray out of the bush.

"Hey!" he complained. More complaining ensued as they tried to get into a better spying position.

"Is this really necessary?" Gajeel said annoyed.

"Of course it is," Gray said keeping his eyes on the cafe window, staring at Lucy and Natsu. As soon as they have left, him and Gajeel called Erza and Levy to accompany them in "overseeing" them. "If we don't help, those two idiots will never get together."

"I agree," Levy nodded. "Lucy and Natsu are a bit dense."

"A bit?" Gray snorted.

"I was only accompanying you to protect Lucy's virtue," Erza sniffed, stiffly. "I do not agree to spying on them."

"We're not spying," Gray assured. "It's 'overseeing' remember?"

"And I doubt Bunny Girl's virtue is going to get besmirched anytime soon," Gajeel laughed. "I bet Natsu doesn't even know how babies are made-"

"Enough," a deadly aura glowed around Erza. "I do not approve of this talk."

"Hey," Levy nudged them. "I think they're leaving!"

Indeed they were. Lucy held a packaged cake in her hands as her and Natsu left Mermaid Heel.

"Uhm- I'll be going this way. Bye, Luce!" Natsu waved at her.

She nodded stiffly. "Make sure to study." With that being said, they both parted ways.

"I wanted a cake," Erza said sadly.

Levy and Gray sighed and facepalmed. This was impossible. With Gajeel and Erza's so called "help", they could never hope to achieve their goals.

"That's it," Levy cried out. "They're getting nowhere! It's time to call in plan last resort!" Levy whirled around facing them.

"We're calling the _she-devil_ herself! Mirajane Strauss!"

On the way back home, both Natsu and Lucy felt a chill run down their spine's.

 **Author's Note:**

Yes! I finally finished this chapter! I'm am so tired. The amount of homework the teachers is giving me is literally killing me. Sorry if there's any grammar mistakes. I am too lazy to proofread it. Bonus points for being honest at least!


	7. Chapter 7

There was nothing Lucy liked more then silence and peace. Especially in the morning. Even though Lucy was an early riser, that doesn't necessarily mean that she is in the mood to deal with needless nuisances.

Lucy strolled down the street with a warm cup of coffee in her hand. It was still early dawn. The rising sun caused a beautiful mixture of color to spread through the sky. Lucy paused to admire it. There were obvious bags under her eyes from a result of countless hours she spent into writing her own novel. Hopefully, a novel that will get published one day.

A voice behind her interrupted her peaceful thoughts. "Hey Lucy!"

Lucy carefully turned around, all too well aware of the sweet and familiar sounding, angelic voice.

"Hey Mira," Lucy said tiredly. It wasn't that she didn't like Mira's company. It was the exact opposite. Mirajane is the best friend anyone could ask for but... well everyone knew how she was once called _the she-devil_. And that wasn't without reason. No one could ever stop her crazy matchmaking plans. The fact that it was way too early in the morning, well before school started too, didn't exactly help improve her mood.

"Good morning!" Mira said cheerfully. "Didn't expect to see you out so early!"

Ha. That was a lie. All her close friends knew that Lucy was an insomniac. Lucy considered herself lucky if she even got three hours of sleep. She couldn't help it. Lucy hated the nightmares that came once she rested her head. Because of this, Lucy often took strolls down the street and to the nearest coffee shop at the break of dawn. It had become a habit. Though once in a while, as rare as they come, she got a good night of sleep without her usual nightmares.

Meeting Mira on Lucy's usual morning route meant one thing. She wanted something. Probably just trying to execute _Get Lucy a boyfriend_ plan #257. Or as Lucy called it, the shortened version, GLAB.

Lucy sniggered. The only fun part was testing out how many ways she could derail Mira's plans. In fact, it had now become a special past time for her. Time to start the little game.

"Yup," Lucy smiled playing along. "I didn't know you were an early riser too!" Lucy laughed on the inside. Mira? An early riser? That was simply impossible. Mira never rose early unless it was for something she considers of utmost importance. In fact, Mira was possibly the grouchiest morning riser Lucy ever seen.

"Hahaha. Yup that's me! The early riser," Mira laughed nervously. She ran and kept up to Lucy's pace.

"So-," Mira smiled slyly. "I heard you meet a special someone." She dragged out the word someone in a singsong voice.

"Yup," Lucy nodded vigorously. "It was the happiest day of my life. He's just so amazing and cute. I think of could die of love right now!" Lucy let out a happy sigh.

Mira blinked in surprise. Lucy was never this open before. But hey, don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Really?!" Mira squealed in excitement. "So what's he like?" She had heard all about the Lucy and Natsu. Mira _knows_ it was fate that wanted them to meet. They just make the cutest couple!

"Well-," Lucy dramatically sighed. "He just has the most gorgeous white hair with deep black eyes."

Wait. Since when did Natsu have white hair? He definitely never had black eyes as far as Mira knew. Maybe Lucy's flower of love had bloomed for someone else?

"He has the cutest voice," Lucy continued. "He even did a dance performance for me! He's so talented!"

Okay, this was definitely not Natsu. No offense to him, but Mira was pretty sure he couldn't dance and neither did Mira ever want to see him dance.

"Wow," Mira said dumbfounded. "He's sounds amazing."

"He has a golden horn-like nose and communicates through gestures and motions. Isn't that adorable?" Lucy droned on.

What kind of human has a _horn-like_ nose? Wait, is it even human? You can never tell if Lucy is joking sometimes. Oh god, just what kind of monster is Lucy dating?!

"He shivers a lot and he can't say anything except for _pun-punn_! but I still love him to the bottom of my heart!" Lucy paused a while to take a breath and continued. "He also-"

"Wait," Mira interrupted, smiling nervously. "Does this guy, uh, by any chance also go to our school?"

Lucy blinked and stared at her like she had grown a lizard tail. "What?! No! My Plue is way too precious to go to school with those ruffians!" Lucy pouted playfully and took out her phone. She busied herself scrolling through her camera roll for a second and brought up a picture.

"This is Plue!" Lucy announced happily. Mira sighed with relief. Plue was just a white...dog? Hmm, or it could be a snowman...Just what kind of creature is it? Mira shook her head, clearing away the useless details. Lucy had her scared for a second. I'll be horrible if Lucy were dating a person with _carrot nose_.

"I just got him a few days ago!" Lucy chirped. "I mean, Plue wouldn't be good enough as a guard dog but he definitely makes up for it in cuteness! I never raised a dog before but it seems like fun!"

"Hey, Lucy," Mira smiled brightly. "That wasn't what I meant. Maybe a special someone that has more of a boyfriend aura then a pet dog's?"

Lucy's eyes rose and meet Mira's. "And cheat on my beloved Plue? Nu-uh, no way. My heart already belongs to this white furry ball of cuteness!"

So this was where Lucy was going. Mira should've known she was messing with her. It did take skills to mess up all 257 matchmaking plans of her's, 258 counting now.

Mira pouted and meet Lucy's gaze. She smiled warmly and teasingly at her, like she was challenging Mira in a friendly way. It seems like Mirajane had meet her match in stubbornness. Time to try different tactic as seeing how a direct approach didn't work.

"Lucy, I'm holding a party tomorrow night," Mira said cheerfully. "Can you make it?"

"I don't know," Lucy pondered. "I gotta ask my therapist first."

Mira frowned. "Since when did you have a therapist?"

"Oh you know," Lucy said casually. "Since this time I let my anger get the best of me and I smashed this annoying girl's face into a piece of cake and set her hair on fire. She just wouldn't give up trying to set me up with someone."

Mira laughed. "Damn it, Heartfilia. You win this round." Mira looked into Lucy's eyes, dropping the innocent and sweet girl act.

"At least consider going to the party, okay?" Mira sighed. "You might think we're just being annoying and bugging you into doing something you don't want but-" she hesitated. "-This whole keep to yourself thing is really getting unhealthy for you."

Mira stood and winked at Lucy. "Besides, I didn't completely fail. I have inside help. It takes two to make a relationship, right?" She grinned and waved goodbye, jogging off.

Lucy scowled, confused. This matchmaking thing has gotten to a point where both of them treats it like a competition. Of course Lucy had always won. Though sometimes, Mirajane just didn't make sense. What the hell she mean when she said that-

Oh no. Something just suddenly clicked in Lucy's head. Dammit, Natsu's still vulnerable to the she-devil's attacks. So that's what she meant when she said it took two to make a relationship.

School didn't even start and Lucy's day just keeps on getting better and better.

xxxxxxxxxx

No tutoring session today. Natsu dragged his foot down the stairs, not sure how he felt about that. He was happy, of course, that he doesn't have anymore extra schoolwork though still somewhat disappointed.

He convinced himself that it was just the fact that the month was ending, the next performance test was coming up, and the fact that he hasn't improved the slightest. Natsu groaned. He was going to get kicked off the soccer team!

No! It will not end this way! Natsu scowled. He will put in more work into his grades and pass with flying colors! Huh, probably not with flying colors but still- Natsu was going to work extra hard to make sure he passed!

"Now I'm all fired up!" Natsu shouted, pumping his hands in the air, saying that to no one in particular.

"Seriously," A voice interrupted him behind him. "You even act stupid when there's no one to see you." Natsu turned around. Of course it was Lucy. Natsu opened his mouth to snap back but stopped when he noticed how worry lines covered Lucy's forehead.

"Hey Luce?" Natsu asked curiously. "Are you okay?"

Lucy blinked in surprise at Natsu's question. She hadn't expected him to notice something was off this quickly. Some part of her was touched by his concern. Of course, the dense idiot had to ruin it all by speaking again.

"Cause I mean-" Natsu continued. "There are a lot of wrinkles on your face. They're going to get stuck there if you keep on looking like that. You're going to be looking like an old lady by the age of sixteen-"

"Shut up!" Lucy's face reddened and smacked Natsu on the head. "Where are you going anyway? It's lunch already."

"Well, since I'm still failing miserably I decided to head towards the library and study for a bit," Natsu explained.

"Wow," Lucy said in awed. "So the pyro does have some sense of responsibility."

"Oi-," Natsu complained. "What are you implying by that?"

Lucy laughed tightly and shook her head. "Come on, I'll go with you to the library. I need to tell you something anyways."

They walked in silence until they reached the library before Lucy frozed outside the library door. "Oh god," Lucy cringed. "I forgot today's _her_ shift."

"Who's _her_?" Natsu asked confused.

"Levy," Lucy said mournfully.

"She's one of your best friends isn't she?" Natsu asked.

She laughed tightly again. "The enemy is everywhere," Lucy advised. She reached up and pet Natsu's head. "Remember that piece of advice my pupil."

Natsu stared at her, dumbfounded. "What was that for?" All the heat rushed to Natsu's and his mind was scrambled.

"What?" Lucy asked. A second passed as Lucy realized what she did. Her cheeks reddened. "Don't think of it like! God, boys and their perverted thoughts."

Lucy sighed and shook her head. "Let's just go in." Both of them stepped into the library.

"Hey Lucy!" Levy smiled and called as soon as they stepped in. "You're here with, um, Natsu." Levy grinned slyly.

"Studying purposes," Lucy said flatly. She drifted towards a desk. "Let's just sit here."

Natsu sat down and cracked open his textbook. The boring page stared at him. He tried to remember the endless paragraphs on the textbook but it was like as soon as he read it, it just slipped out of his brain.

"Urg," Natsu sighed, throwing his textbook back on the table. "It's just no use."

"Did you at least try?" Lucy asked, looking up from the book she was reading.

"Of course I did," Natsu sighed. It was unfair. Some people were just born smart and can speed through these school work without breaking a sweat.

Lucy furrowed her eyebrows. "Quit it. Stop making excuses for yourself."

"Hey!" Natsu protested. "I'm not doing that! No matter how hard I tried-"

"If you think with a mindset like that, then you're never going to get anywhere," Lucy closed her book and looked at Natsu straight in the eye. "Set a goal for yourself that you want to achieve with all your heart and push yourself to reach it. It worked for me."

Natsu stayed quiet for a moment. What is his goal? To stay on the soccer team? Maybe to make Igneel proud? None of those really sparked a light in him. No, it was something else.

"Hey Natsu," Lucy quietly pointed out. "It's okay if your goal is a bit selfish and gains more for yourself. Stop thinking about others for a second."

Lucy looked like she was about to cry. How could she ask that of him? The biggest difference between them, that Natsu and her friends couldn't see, was the fact that Natsu couldn't ever stop considering about others. He always put them first before himself.

"Luce?" Natsu asked lightly. "What's your goal?" Lucy stayed quiet. Her...goal? She laughed to herself. It was entirely selfish but it had gotten her to this point. Top of the class with a bright future ahead. But like Levy and Mira often suggested, she felt as if something was missing.

"Nothing important," Lucy brushed away the question. "Work on setting your goal first."

"Oh yeah," Natsu exclaimed. "You said you have something you had to tell me before we came here, didn't we?"

Lucy glanced nervously at Levy who was clearly listening to their conversation while pretending to be immersed in cleaning the shelves. "Just-just run the other way if Mira comes to you for something. I'll talk to you more about this concern later."

Natsu nodded and looked down at his book. "Am I your friend?" he asked suddenly.

Lucy was surprised by the question and gave a questioning look at him but answered it anyway. "No, it's more like a forced acquaintanceship."

"Wow, geez," Natsu said sarcastically. "I am moved by how much I mean to you." His joking face faded away and got replaced by a serious one.

"I think I have a goal now."

This fast? Lucy was mildly surprised. That was Natsu for you. He tackled everything in life head-on with a positive perspective.

"If I pass-," Natsu said with a determined expression on his face, stopping for a while.

Lucy would've never imagine the next sentence.

"We're going to be best friends."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...Are you an idiot?"

"What?" Natsu protested. "It seems like a reasonable goal. If I pass the performance test then you gotta be my best friend!"

Lucy laughed. "Maybe in a world with talking cats and magic but definitely not in this reality."

"Why not?"

"For one thing, we have nothing in common. We can barely tolerate each other. And I don't feel like wasting my time," Lucy said stiffly. "Why? Why out of everything, you choose something like that?"

Natsu stayed quiet. Lucy had said that he can afford to be selfish just this once. Maybe-maybe if he pushed Lucy into a clear barrier for friends, he wouldn't be doubting himself and his feelings so much. After all, he has to stay focus on soccer and school.

But no, that's wasn't the reason. Something inside of him rebelled against it. He wanted to get to know her more. Show her the world isn't so small like she treated it. Natsu was determined to bring Lucy out of her shell.

Lucy sighed and stretched her arms. "Well whatever. I accept. But on one condition," she grinned mischievous at Natsu. "It's only if you gets higher score then I do."

A higher score then Lucy? That won't be easy seeing as to how she always got the highest score on everything in the school.

"It's a deal!" Natsu declared."Now I'm really fired up!" Natsu had a look in his eyes that he normally got before a soccer match started. He was issued a challenge and he would not back down.

Lucy gave Natsu an exasperated look. There was none to zero chances of him getting a higher score then her but she'll indulge Natsu.

"You really are an idiot, you know?" Lucy smiled in spite of herself.

"Yes but I'm an adorable one," Natsu countered.

The hard days to come in Lucy's future suddenly doesn't seem that bad. To hell with her father issues and personal traumas. Lucy had someone by her side and that was enough.


End file.
